A fairly large number of people are suffering from liver-associated diseases at present in India. Most of such patient cases end up with liver failure. This is due to the fact that the patients with liver-related disorders fail to detect the symptoms at an early stage and so the disease reaches its advanced stage. The inability to identify the signs and symptoms can be because of lack of awareness.
One must be aware of the symptoms to be able to determine whether they have the disease or not. There can be a host of symptoms of liver disease including. yellowish appearance, abdominal pain, and swelling, swelling in the legs and ankles, Itchy skin, dark urine color, pale stool color, or bloody or tar-colored stool, persistent fatigue, nausea or vomiting, sudden loss of appetite, to name a few.
For end-stage liver disease, a liver transplant is executed. After knowing the symptoms, the next thing one should know about is the type of liver transplant procedures used in India to treat patients. Following are the types of liver
- Orthotopic transplantation:
This approach involves the removal of the damaged liver of the recipient with a healthy liver attained from the donor. During the course of this procedure, the impaired liver is eliminated from the four cardinal blood vessels and other structures present in the abdomen of the patient. Thereafter, the new healthy donor liver is connected followed by blood restoration process.
- Heterotopic transplantation:
In this approach, healthy donor liver is positioned at a site close to the original one leaving the damaged liver where it was.
- Reduced-size Liver Transplantation:
Often performed on children, reduced size liver transplantation involves a series of steps to execute the transplant of a part of the damaged liver with a healthy one.
Now, for people who consider a liver transplant a financial burden should choose to come to India. The cost of the liver transplant in India is significantly lower, around one-fourth than that in developing countries. For better understanding, let us delve into the facts related to the cost estimates.
Liver transplant cost in India
Apart from Internationally-recognized infrastructure, world-class medical equipment and devices, and a pool of experienced and highly sought-after surgeons and liver specialists, India has sprouted as the safest harbors for patients looking for liver transplant surgery due to affordable cost.
For quite long, people migrated to countries like the US and UK to pursue medical treatment, but the overbearing costs became a financial burden for many. India while not compromising on the quality, offers complex procedures such as liver transplant at a fraction of the price. Contrary to USD 1,25,000 charged by US medical facilities, Indian medical establishments offer liver transplant at mere USD 33000-the difference is enormous.
With that being said, the price of the surgery finally is contingent on a variety of factors, such as
- Patient’s current health status and age
- Type of surgery used
- Surgeons experience
- Type of hospital chosen
- Cost of diagnostic tests and other procedures
- Postoperative medications prescribed
- Hospital stay
- Transportation costs
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation time
Depending on the factors as mentioned above and more, the final cost of the procedure can be calculated.
